This is often due to hard work in the vineyards by young, ambitious winemakers and their will to experiment with different techniques. An example of this is Wynand Grobler, winemaker at Rickety Bridge in Franschhoek. In addition to his diploma from the Stellenbosch Wine University, he has also worked at some of the best estates in South Africa, Rust en Vrede and Ernie Els. His wines are very structured with good acidity and tannins.

Rickety Bridge is an old winery property, founded in the late 1600 by the first French Huguenots who arrived in Franschhoek. In the beginning the grapes were used mainly for brandy, now it is a “boutique winery” of 16 hectares.

Chenin is still South Africa’s most planted grape variety although it only represents 18 % of the total surface today, down from 32 % in 1990. And more and more chenin blanc (which used to be called steen in South Africa) is made in a quality conscious way, which means, for instance, not killing all the aromas with cold fermentation. Chenin blanc from Rickety Bridge has passion fruit and citrus as dominant flavours and a completely dry finish. A tasty and refreshing wine, delicious with food.

Rosé 2009

In most places the chenin that is pulled out is replaced by red grapes. Rickety Bridge Rosé is made from merlot (50%), cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and a little bit of viognier. Interesting idea to put some white grapes in the rosé wine, quite unusual. But maybe the spicy after-taste actually comes from the viognier. A pleasant wine, with hints of strawberry, for spring and summer.

This is a very elegant wine with a lot of minerality (thanks to the granite, says Wynand) but also typical cabernet aromas like cedar wood and some vanilla from the oak. 100 % cabernet sauvignon.

Foundation Stone 2008

The dominant grape is shiraz and mourvèdre and grenache are added to make the blend complete. Wynand is quite a Rhône lover. Good structure, refreshing fruit flavours and noticeable tannins make this a superb wine with any red meat.

Shiraz 2004

I was reminded of an 8-10 year old Bordeaux with flavours of tobacco and leather. Quite a sophisticated wine that will probably keep for another 10 years. The taste is soft and velvety but with a structured finish.

Pinotage 2010

Wynand made his first pinotage in 2008 and he was not very happy with it. Pinotage is a difficult grape to work with, he says. He has every reason, however, to be proud of his 2010 vintage. It is always difficult to know what to expect of a pinotage. Here, Wynand succeeds in getting both power and a generous fruit into the wine. There is also a hint of tar that reminds me a little bit of syrah. The colour is dark, almost black, but the wine is not heavy. The acidity is there to balance the power.

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[…] An example of this is Wynand Grobler, winemaker at Rickety Bridge in Franschhoek. In addition to his diploma from the Stellenbosch Wine University, he has also worked at some of the best estates in South Africa, Rust en Vrede and Ernie Els. His wines are very structured with good acidity and tannins. Britt has tasted a number of his wines and explains more about the winery: South African quality wines from Rickety Bridge […]

[…] has tasted a number of his wines and explains more about the winery: South African quality wines from Rickety Bridge Rickety Bridge winery in Franschhoek, copyright BKWine Photography Franschhoek, South Africa […]

[…] They have an interesting and unusual range of wines. Most of them are made in “European” style, with a good structure, good tannins and not overly ripe grapes. Even their South African Pinotage has a lot of freshness. It is not always the case in pinotages. It is actually made from grapes from their vineyards in Swartland, an even hotter region. It seems to be the place to be today in the South African wine regions. There are a lot of exciting wines made in the very young wine region. (More of my tasting notes on Rickety Bridge wines.) […]

[…] visit here. We started at Rickety Bridge and Boekenhoutskloof. We never found the rickety bridge at Rickety Bridge but we had a fantastic time with their winemaker, Wynand Grobler. He had arranged a “wine […]